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Reviews
T.H. Breen in the New York Review of Books
“In The Howe Dynasty, her impressive account of the rise of the Howe family from relative obscurity early in the eighteenth century to positions of prestige and power during the reign of George III, Julie Flavell provides fresh insight into a privileged society that supported a distant war with little chance of success.” – NYRB, February 23, 2023
Commanders and Courtiers T.H. Breen The New York Review of Books
Rick Atkinson in the New York Times
“The Howe story is more compelling than the stupid redcoats caricature that has persisted for more than two centuries, as Julie Flavell demonstrates in ‘The Howe Dynasty,’ her vibrant biography of the accomplished, beguiling family. . . . The Howes have long been opaque and even inscrutable. Flavell’s scholarship and deft storytelling add nuance, sympathy and granularity to the family portrait.”– NYT, July 20, 2021
Atkinson_Brothers_In_Arms_Flavell_NYTBR
Journal of the American Revolution
“Flavell deftly weaves together social, political, and military history and presents a whole picture of the Howe family that discredits some of the criticism of the Howes while elevating the value put upon history as told from a woman’s perspective.”
Kelly Mielke, JAR, September 27, 2021
The Christian Science Monitor
“Vivid and compelling. . . . Combining military analysis with an effective use of heretofore ignored sources, she brings together the domestic sphere and the military sphere to form an original and more complete picture of a fascinating family.”
Barbara Spindel, CSM, September 1, 2021
Times Literary Supplement
“Flavell, an independent scholar, meticulously combs manuscripts held in numerous archives on both sides of the Atlantic… Melding family, political and military history, Flavell’s sympathetic account… shows the historical value of Caroline’s intriguing vantage point on the American Revolution.”
Mark G. Spencer, The Times Literary Supplement, August 20 & 27, 2021
The Christian Science Monitor, July Book Selection
“William and Richard Howe commanded British troops during the American Revolution. This rich and vivid history tells their stories alongside those of the family’s women, who wielded their own quiet but determined power behind the scenes. It provides a fascinating window on aristocratic British society in the late 1700s.” – CSM, July 16, 2021
The Wall Street Journal “Bookshelf”
“Spanning almost a century of the Georgian era, “The Howe Dynasty” presents a richly detailed and lively saga of one of its most distinguished families. Challenging and insightful, it reflects impressive scholarship, grounded in exhaustive archival research on both sides of the Atlantic. . . . ‘The Howe Dynasty’ shows how women whose supreme function in life was to produce male heirs could nonetheless find a voice through informal “networking,” establishing crucial contacts in the drawing room or on the hunting field that could be mobilized to secure favors and control opinion.”
–Stephen Brumwell, Wall Street Journal, July 9, 2021
‘The Howe Dynasty’ Review_ An Imperial Family – WSJ
Outlook by the Bay Magazine
“This book is for anyone who loves Revolutionary War history….The war was fought in [London’s] coffee houses, drawing rooms and bedrooms and ‘The Howe Dynasty’ takes its readers through them all. Extensive research pulls together a picture of events manipulated by the clever, the avaricious, the powerful and the powerless. And over all hovered the frustrations of geography, time and distance. This book is a fascinating read.”
–Tricia Herban, December 29, 2021
Read the full review here.
Library Journal
“Full of detail and intrigue, the narrative is illustrated with vivid portraits of extended family members and maps of military engagements. This engaging popular history stands apart for its different perspective of the British side of the American Revolution and the Howe family’s involvement in peace efforts.”
― Stacy Shaw, Library Journal, July 1, 2021
Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
“In this brilliantly conceived and vividly written biography, historian Flavell (When London Was Capital of America) takes a fresh look at the family of Richard Admiral Lord Howe and Gen. William Howe, the brothers who commanded British forces in North America at the start of the Revolutionary War.”
Kirkus Reviews
“An intelligent, sympathetic portrait that challenges popular views of the Howe family….The author offers much for historians to argue about and plenty for patient readers to enjoy.”
Review Test
3rd March, 2021